For all the glamour and glitz that comes with playing in the NFL, there”s also the reality of the business.

An average NFL career lasts three years. Players are forced to uproot themselves when a team no longer requires their services.

“When I was a rookie, someone said, ”Look around you, because half these guys won”t be around next year,””” said Saints second-year offensive lineman Carl Nicks, a North Salinas High School and Hartnell College product.

Kassim Osgood has overcome those odds. The two-time all-pro special teams demon is beginning his seventh year in the NFL — all with the Chargers, more than doubling the career expectancy of an NFL player.

By comparison, Maurice Mann spent five seasons in five different NFL training camps, playing in one regular season game with the Vikings before finding a home north of the border this year in Edmonton, Canada.

Tony Curtis understands what Mann has dealt with. After four seasons in Dallas, the tight end is in Kansas City, battling for a job and adjusting to a new environment.

Curtis has chosen to leave his wife and daughter in Dallas, rather than move them to Kansas City where there is no guarantee how long he”ll be with the team.

“It”s taking some getting used to,”” Curtis said.

He wasn”t necessary talking about his new team or uniform colors. Curtis, The Herald”s Athlete of the Year in 2001 at Seaside, was speaking about adjusting to life in a new city.

While Osgood, a former North Salinas standout, has begun to put down roots in San Diego, Curtis loved living in Dallas. He met his wife there and had no intention of leaving.

But when you”re not tendered a contract, the writing is on the wall. He had to go where a job waited.

The NFL pays well. And moving to a new city can be temporary. Still, leaving your comfort zone is a mental challenge. If you love where you live, being forced out of your surroundings can affect the mind.

Elliott Vallejo is entering his third season with the Cardinals and his career is at a crossroads. The 6-foot-7 offensive tackle realizes if he doesn”t show enough progress this summer, he”ll likely be on the move.

Three years in the NFL is the timetable, particularly for players who are considered projects. Vallejo, a Palma alum, has spent more time on the sidelines in street clothes than in a uniform.

Like Curtis, Vallejo spent his first year on the Cardinals practice squad. And like Curtis, Vallejo has grown to like living in the desert and playing for the organization.